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I don’t really go in for computer games, but I have fallen absolutely in love with Monaco: What’s Yours Is Mine. I think it’s because top-down games resemble board games. On top of that, I find stealth games extremely fun, and the soundtrack is beyond amazing. Of course I started thinking about how to run this as an RPG.
Risus is usually my go-to choice for anything “fun”. Monaco doesn’t take itself too seriously, and while the plot borrows from The Usual Suspects and Sin City, it does so in a tongue-in-cheek way. Guards somehow forget that they saw you once you’ve been out of sight for a minute and the players routinely bring their cohorts back from the dead. Using Risus is easy, and allows you to mix-and-match the established classes as well as make a few of your own. Here’s a slew of Cliches to go along with the ones from Monaco.
Most of the optional rules fit will in Monaco. Hooks and Tales get the players in the right mood for Monaco, and Pumping Cliches give them plenty of rope with which to hang themselves. As for Double Pump Cliches, they’re absolutely necessary. The classes from the game are the paragons of dirty criminality. The Locksmith is THE LOCKSMITH. Anyone can have Locksmith as a Cliche, but if you’re playing someone on par with crew from Monaco, who can also hack computers, drive getaway cars, and knows their way around shotguns, those should be Double Pump Cliches.
- THE LOCKSMITH
- Description: A thick-mustached professional thief. Sometimes remembers things wrong. Trusting for a criminal (but not enough to give people his real name). Might have a gambling problem.
- Cliches: Locksmith [4], Gambler (2), Carpenter (1)
- Hook: Addicted to taking big risks. Cannot say no to high-risk, high-reward heists and bets.
NPCs are pretty easy too. Just make stereotypical guards and civilians as single entities or as Grunt Squads. The same should be applied to the traps.
In Monaco, the laser alarms, turrets, and other security measures are interspersed with the wandering guards, but sometimes there will be a net of security measures in one room. For example, getting on board the yacht takes getting past a web of lasers tied to tranquilizer turrets. Traps like this should be considered Grunt Squads, probably with a single cliche, like “Laser/Tranq Trap (4)”.
Sometimes an entire building can be consolidated into one stat set, especially if it’s not important to the plot but you don’t want to be too easy on the players. Maybe a side-job is available to stock up on needed gear for the real heist. The players can roll against “Army Surplus Store (4)”. If they succeed, they get some extra gear. If not, they have to tackle the heist with whatever they have on hand.
In the end, remember that it’s a crime story. Nothing is easy or fair. Change things up whenever the thieves get too complacent. Read Fisaco and Listen Up You Primitive Screwheads to get into the right headspace. And above all, don’t be afraid to let only one of the dirty criminals get away in the end.
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